Unlike his counterpart, Cardinals manager Mike Matheny used the best bat available to him on the bench in the ninth inning. All-Star Allen Craig, who had returned to the Cardinals this series after not playing since Sept. 4 due to a sprained foot, stepped to the plate against the stingy Red Sox closer Koji Uehara with a runner on first base and the game tied at four.

Craig pounced on the first pitch, an 88-mph four-seamer, smacking a line drive to left field for a double. With first base open and the weak-hitting Pete Kozma on-deck, Red Sox manager John Farrell decided to pitch to Jon Jay. The peculiar choice initially appeared to pay off when Jay hit a ground ball to second baseman Dustin Pedroia, who was drawn in and easily threw the lead-footed Yadier Molina out at home.

Craig, running on the bum foot, tried to advance to third base on the play when catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia fired a throw to get him out. But the ball sailed over third baseman Will Middlebrooks, similar to Craig Breslow’s errant throw in Game 2, and Craig immediately stood up to run home to score the game-winning run.

Instead, he tripped over Middlebrooks, who was lying on the ground after diving for the misfire. A flustered Craig got up and continued running home anyway. Daniel Nava’s throw beat him and Saltalamacchia applied the tag with room to spare. The Red Sox celebrated. The threat appeared to be over on a disastrous base running mistake.

But the third-base umpire signaled obstruction on Middlebrooks. Craig, on the ground in pain, was ruled safe. The celebration switched to the other side, though it didn’t include Craig who hobbled off the field. And just like that, one of the most bizarre sequences in memory concluded Game 3.